Thursday, December 4, 2008

KEITH WAS BAPTIZED! My family came into town on Friday and we spent the weekend window shopping, cooking, eating, and worshiping together. My dad and Robin got in Friday afternoon and even brought a few gifts for baby Jack. We went and looked at the Christmas decorations at Opryland Hotel after a great dinner at Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant in downtown Franklin. Then Jonathan and Telcia arrived early Saturday. We loaded up in the Jeep and gave everyone a tour of the area. We did some strolling/shopping in downtown Franklin after eating again at Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant... They have great dinners and we really wanted to try out their lunch. It was even better!! Saturday night was Keith's baptism. Suzi, Bobby, Cody, Wayne, and Susan all came down from Hendersonville for this moving event. Then afterwards we had a small 'birth'day party for Keith at the house. We celebrated his spiritual AND physical birth. Happy '33' my love!!

My friend Johanna was in KY from California visiting family, and decided to drive down and visit ME!! We ate dinner at Moe's on Friday night and then went out to see Ballet Magnificat! perform The Scarlet Cord. It was an amazing night... Neither of us had ever been to a ballet, and don't think we'll forget that night anytime soon. What an amazing message and BEAUTIFUL talent!! (click the picture for info!)We had a great rest of the weekend; watched some movies, did some window shopping, and it was just great to hang out. I hadn't seen her in TWO YEARS!! How fun!

November 27th

Thanksgiving was awesome, and busy! Thursday we went up to Hendersonville and spent the day gorging on food cooked by Suzi and Kath. It was SOOOO good. We came home and crashed before leaving at 4:30am to head to Atlanta. We spent the weekend visiting with my sister Mandy, bro-in-law Kevin, nephew Dylan, bro Jonathan, sis-in-law-to-be Telcia, Dad and Robin. Whew! Lotsa family, that's something to be SO thankful for!!

(stopping to see the ducks on Thanksgiving in Hendersonville)

(Keith playing with his bday gift from the Goldbachs...a marshmellow shooter!)

(Whipped cream exploded!!)

(The girl's spending the afternoon wedding planning... only a few more weeks!)

(Chillin' with Dylan after an afternoon of kayaking)

December 4th

6 month checkup! Jack seems to be doing well! Growing big and strong and taking in EVERYTHING momma eats... So many things to be thankful for over these past few weeks. Thank you LORD!!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Thursday, November 13, 2008

So I have yet to mention our latest "baby stuff" deal! Keith and I purchased a brand new glider and ottoman set from a lady we met off of craigslist. She had noticed a small defect in the back of the seat cushion, and Target agreed to replace her chair but did not ask for the damaged one in return! She had not even set up the chair, it was still in the box! So she decided to sell it on craigslist for 40% off of the original cost. cHA-cHinG! It is a beautiful chair and an easy decision for us. Keith and I both got to try out her replacement chair, and she even had a Boppy that I could try out and make sure that the chair was roomy enough for me and Jack. She had the most adorable 3 month old... so much personality!! She also sold me 3 maternity tops for a real cheap price... yet another blessing!

When Keith and I got home we immediately set the chair up, and in trying it out...

Keith FELL ASLEEP!! Yes, I couldn't believe it... He was in the chair maybe 5 minutes and he was O-U-T! I couldn't help but take a picture... I have a feeling that this will be a common occurrence, for both of us, in the next few months.

Last night I made a really good 'Shortcut Chicken Cordon Blue' that was served over egg noodles. It was quick, easy, and GOOD! But after dinner I decided I wanted something sweet. I pulled out the vanilla ice cream, and in reaching in the cabinet for some peanuts to sprinkle on top I saw something that looked SO appetizing!! There were some chips in there! Sour Cream and Onion!! If you know me, then you know love chips... any kind; chips and salsa, chips and dip, chips chips chips... So of course I had to pull them out and eat a few before eating my ice cream... The thought of this make Keith quite queasy.. What's wrong with Sourcream chips and Icecream?? It tasted good to me!!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Things are going so good lately, so of course as in many Christian lives, crazy things have been starting to happen. Some of them little things, "hurt feelings" and little fights being picked... And some of them are larger; issues that haven't poked their evil heads in MONTHS are now are suddenly reappearing.

The only thing I can think is that "something" is trying to pull the Fire and Inspiration away from me that has been so strong lately! All I can say is "GET BEHIND ME" cause I have stuff to do and I'm not letting any of this cause me to waver or fall.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

I got an update on Meek today! I miss that little guy... I'm so glad he is so happy! (and as Keith pointed out, he looks as ornery as ever!)

Hi! How are you?Meek is doing absolutely wonderful...he's really coming around to the kids. He gets out of his cage everyday and runs around the classroom (and sometimes into the hallway, but he turns around immediately and comes back into the room..haha) in his ball. The kids love him and he lets them pet him and they LOVE to feed him from their hand. They are so good to him and always make sure he's taken care of. :) I am attaching a few pics of him that I have on this computer at home and hopefully will be able to send you more later. Have a wonderful rest of the week and thanks for keeping in touch and checking on him...again anytime you guys want anything in order to stay updated on him let me know. Thanks,Ashley

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

TO GLORIFY GOD! That's is the "why" in "why we exist". Yesterday was an amazing day, and besides the news of our son, Keith and I had a wonderful evening of fellowship and "refreshment" as we met with Gramma S. online for the first of our "Tuesday Night Studies." Keith and I have been wanting to find time during the week to be refreshed and re-inspired as we are every Sunday morning. Keith asked my mom to join us in an online video/audio conference as we watch the previous Sunday messages and then discuss them. Last night was our first try, and besides some small technical difficulties, it ended up being really fun!! We actually decided to start at the beginning of the current series "Dangerous Ideas: that changed the world". The first comment made was "Dangerous Ideas! Sounds just like Obama!" I have to say that in a way there was some truth to that, but I took something different from the message this time around, as God spoke to me and comforted me throughout the events that followed later in the evening.

The message was about our purpose; to Glorify GOD. God has provided us EVERYTHING we need to glorify Him. The moment we are born we have what we need. We don't need to be anywhere financially, emotionally, or physically. We simply have to believe in Him. That is what brings him Glory! He doesn't ask anything else but our belief! Wow, to think that I am HIS inheritance AS IS! Just knowing that He values me as His inheritance makes me want to work and work to glorify Him, but to then know that I don't even have to work; just believe!

After the election last night, I can't say that I was that excited. I probably said a few things during the acceptance speech and made a few comments about the others there cheering as if it was a sporting event. But then I realized that there IS excitement in what has taken place! Throughout my life I have found the most exciting moments are when I put full faith in Christ to take care of my day. Just as I always think I have things figured out and have them my way, God will flip things around and they will turn out even better to His glory! As I think about the election, I know that God has planned this for our country at this moment. Whether I think it's the right choice or not, God has it all under control. And if the "why" of my existance is to glorify Him by BELIEVING, then that is all I want to do! Believe that He is taking care of me, taking care of our country, and that He will flip things around so that they will turn out even better to His glory! I have heard comments about "My vote doesn't matter, so I'm not voting anymore..." but what fools are we to think our vote ever mattered in the first place? I vote to show how I care and because it is my responsibility to be a part of this nation. But to think that little 'ole ME has any effect on ANYTHING is just foolish. GOD knew the results of this election before the beginning of time. As well, He knew all of the evil kings that would rule throughout the Bible and did they lead to destruction in some cases? SURE! But in the end is it all for good, and for His Glory? OF COURSE!!

So I'm not scared, I will glorify God by believeing and trusting in Him. Knowing that He has our country right where He wants it, and as His child I am safe in His arms. This is the fun part, waiting to see what will happen next. Knowing it's NOT in MY control. Thank you LORD for a wonderful day yesterday, and a new challenge to love and accept Your choices during my lifetime.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

I wanted to post a few pictures from Halloween, but first I must announce the knowledge of our beautiful baby boy!! Jack Raymond Brawner was nice enough to spread his legs today, and will be the first Brawner boy in 30 years!! Keith and I are ecstatic! Weighing in at approximately 1 pound, Jack Brawner will keep his original due date of March 15th, 2009. We are now even more eagerly awaiting his arival! Here are some pictures of Momma B and uh... I don't really know whatcha call him...

We took Keith's cousin Cody trick-or-treating. It was a blast! I can't wait to take little Jack!!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Last night was awesome! Keith and I had some friends come over, and we all gathered round our TV to watch the Cirque du Soleil LOVE documentary! It is call 'All Together Now'. Melissa made the most amazing "Cheeseburger Soup" and Keith and I threw together some chocolatey, whipped cream, vanilla waffer, strawberry mess and called it "Strawberry Fields." It was surprisingly really good for just making it up! My dear friend Todd came, it was so good to see him! I hadn't seen him since he played at our wedding reception. All 4 of us had tried to get together earlier this month as the documentary was being shown in theaters for one night only. The day of, however, Keith and I found out that the tickets were $20 a piece!! So we opted out of the theater and just bought the dvd for $20 and invited friends to our place to see it. It was really good... Makes me wanna go back to Vegas and see the show again! There are some clips above of the LOVE show held at the Mirage hotel in Vegas.

I'm having trouble focusing on work today. We have an exciting weekend coming up! Keith's cousin Cody is coming down to trick or treat with us tomorrow. I love Halloween! One of my favorite holidays. Keith and I will be dressing up and passing out candy after a couple blocks of trick or treating. Then next week, of course, we find out who the next President will be!!! hahaha... Actually, the excitement I have is about finding out if we're having a little boy or little girl!! I can't believe that time has come!!! Ugh... it's only 12:20... hard to get through today...

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I had a dream last nightthat I was laying down and i saw my baby's foot!It pushed up through my bellyAnd it had little teeny toenails, and they were kinda long and sharp.So I screamed for Keith to come and see!I kept touching and tickling it, and then i saw it's little hands push through!So i went to touch them and it grabbed a hold of my fingers... REALLY TIGHT! i was like 'wow! our baby has got a great grip!'

I'd seen this belly picture (above) before, so maybe that added to my very real dream. But it pushed up high, and I could see the ankle. It looked like a foot pushing through saran wrap or something. It was so cool to have my lil baby hold my fingers and let me tickle it's little foot. I just can't wait!!!!

Monday, October 27, 2008

So...We bought our crib bedding this weekend. We were at Bed Bath and Beyond just browsing, knowing that we had a few gift card monies left. We got to the clearance table and Keith noticed a 4 piece crib bedding set. There was no clearance tag or discount price on it, and so we didn’t know how much it was or if it was truly clearance. Then we looked around and realized we had never seen any crib stuff at Bed Bath and Beyond before. I knew they had stuff online, but I hadn’t seen it in stores.So we walked up to the register to find out what was going on. The cashier told us that the crib bedding was only available online, but someone had returned it to the store, so it was in fact clearance… 50% off! It’s original price was $259.99 but after the 50% off and using our gift cards, we ended up paying $112.00 for it. Then we were told if we had a 20% off coupon from our mail, that we could bring our receipt back with that coupon and get an additional 20% off!! We couldn’t believe it! More blessings in the baby stuff department! Now, it isn’t pooh.. but it’s really pretty. It is listed as a ‘neutral’ bedding too, so that was a plus...We also stopped at Home Depot to check out some Ceiling Fans for baby B...

We found this cute little bronze one that may look great with our crib and some of the other bold colors we'll have. It is so fun getting stuff for our little baby, and even more fun getting it on SALE!!

God has really been blessing us in letting us be good stewards of His money. We made a promise to each other that we would do the best to limit any and all home improvements until after we paid back everything that we 'owed' (debt, etc.). He has really been blessing us in providing what we need to pay off our debts, and also finding great deals to be able to provide for our family in a conservative way. What a fun and exciting weekend... We will find out if we are having little boy or girl a week from tomorrow!! WE CAN'T WAIT!!!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Friday, October 17, 2008

Okay, so I think this is SO cute... This is what my baby looks like right now! All scrunched up in there. I can understand why I should be feeling kicks soon! I'm 19 weeks! (well, in 2 more days). That means that finding out the sex of our child is RIGHT around the corner! I can't even believe how fast this has all flown by. I have been doing pretty good at sleeping on my side. I was for sure this would be a challenge for me, but it is more challenging just to sleep continuously through the night! I guess I need to get used to this. In about 5 more months 'sleep' will probably be a foreign word to me.

It's been another busy week, and I even took a day off to stay at home and rest. (my first day off my entire pregnancy!) God has been challenging me to apply what I've been learning lately. Our church gave everyone a copy of the book 'Crazy Love' by Francis Chan. I have been really focusing on living my christianity OUTWARDLY. Our life is so short, and every moment will be wasted if we aren't careful. My integrity was challenged this week, as I was asked again to be deceptive in my job. I had already tried to be strong and make a stand by having a meeting with my boss telling him that I refused to compromise my integrity and was uncomfortable with certain parts of my job that were deceptive. He again put me in the situation and this time I was ordered to do it. The reaction was interesting when I spoke out about the deception. He didn't tell me to hush up about it, but proceded to shout over me sarcastically and across the room that 'we were having a righteous moment over here!' I have to say, that's a first for me. I don't mind my righteousness being shouted. I'll shout it out myself, I ain't skeerd...

It was definately challenging as I asked to meet with my boss alone in another meeting and bringing an HR representitive into the meeting for documentation. It was hard to keep my cool and not be so angry! Though in my job, I was still forced to do this, I at least was able to explain that I was not 'ok' with what was going on, and it is on record with a witness. I look forward to the day that I'm presented with a new job opportunity. I know that GOD for sure is working in me while I'm here though. Let the persecution continue!!

It has really been great to just surround myself with people and conversation that is inspirational; between the play, 'coupon-ing', and taking a Love & Respect class with my husband. It is very hard to go a day without forgetting what my job is on earth, and the motivation to be more so that I may do more.